


Golden Sunrise

by Ageha1304



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Difficult Decisions, F/M, Falling In Love, Garreg Mach Monastery (Fire Emblem), Mentioned Ashen Wolves Students (Fire Emblem), Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Spoilers, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26810902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ageha1304/pseuds/Ageha1304
Summary: As a minor noble from the Adrestian Empire getting an opportunity to learn in the Officer's Academy is one of the best things that could have happened to Amber von Lichtenberg. However, as war is looming on the horizon and Amber's family is pushing her to support the new emperor, she finds herself being torn by her sense of obligation and her heart.
Relationships: Claude von Riegan/Original Female Character(s), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. The Arrival

_Great Tree Moon. It symbolizes the arrival of spring, warmth and beautiful flower blossoms, which have longed to show themselves after the long, cold winter days. It also marks the beginning of a new year in Fodlan and in Garreg Mach Monastery, where streams of young men and women flow, wishing to achieve greater things in their lives._

* * *

Finally I arrived at the Garreg Mach Monastery. It was a grand structure, so grand in fact that I have never seen anything like it. Even the Imperial Castle that has housed Emperors and Empresses from the Adrestian Empire since its foundation cannot compare to the Monastery. I had not believed when my father said that it was bigger than the castle, but he clearly was not exaggerating at all.

As a minor noble from the Empire, it was a big honor to attend the Officer’s Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery. The noble blood in my family was running thin and were it not for my Crest, I most likely would never get to attend. 

I bore the Crest of Lamine, although my family name was Lichtenberg. A very long time ago my family and Lamine family were one, however the bloodline split up more than 300 years ago. Lamine family first had the status of nobles however over the years their family split up even more. My family retained the status of minor nobles and although rarely anybody from our bloodline bore a crest, it persevered and kept itself together. This perseverance and close family ties helped us get through many rough times, so for that reason my parents always preached that there was nothing more powerful than family.

And since I was born bearing a crest, I had a chance to strengthen my family and give everybody a better life. My mother and father did everything in their power to teach me everything I needed to know to be a proper noble, even if it meant that they would only have bread for dinner. I learned magic, swordsmanship, dancing, etiquette, politics and anything else that could make me a better noble. It was tough, but I did it all, without a complaint, for my family. And now I was ready to undergo elite military training in Officer's Academy so I could serve the Empire and better the lives of my dear parents and precious younger siblings.

* * *

As any noble or commoner originating from the Empire, I was put into Black Eagle house. And what's more, this year it was led by the Imperial princess herself — Edelgard von Hresvelg. I was already 19 years old, so I could have attended the Academy last year or even the year before that, however my mother carefully listened to rumors and made sure to enter me the same the princess was attending. I certainly felt intimidated by this fact, however I will do my best to leave a good impression on Her Majesty.

Quite honestly I was excited to have some time away from my parents, siblings and the constant lessons that I had to do every day with little to no rest. As much as I loved my family, I also wanted to have a bit of time for myself to relax and do things I would enjoy. Only time I could relax at home was whenever I spent time together with my siblings. My younger sister and brother loved to play with me, so I tried to enjoy my time with them whenever I could.

In any case, back to the matter at hand. There was a big orientation event happening right before the start of studies, so students could familiarize themselves with the Monastery. Each leader of the house had to give a speech to the members of their respective houses right before the event. It was mostly about the history of Garreg Mach and the way students were supposed to behave in the Monastery.

Many went to listen to the speech and soon enough I joined others from the Black Eagle house. Her Majesty stood in front of us and although her figure was petite, her voice carried strength and authority. She wasn’t nearly as intimidating as I thought at first and even though I was just a minor noble and she was the Imperial princess, I could relate to her a little bit. We both will carry the burdens of our family, only hers was so much bigger than mine. Maybe this little fact will help me forge a good relationship with her.

After the speech, Her Majesty visibly relaxed and gave everybody a polite smile.

“You do not need to worry about status and treating me like the Imperial princess while being here at the Academy. I am a student here, just like anybody else, and I want to be treated as such,” she said firmly. “And same rule applies to anybody else. Status does not matter here, only skill does.”

There was a quiet murmur going on in the crowd. Nobles including myself had a hard time accepting this, while commoners on the other hand seemed excited that they would be on a somewhat equal footing with the nobles and the future Empress, even if just for a little while. If Her Maj- Edelgard actually means what she says, then I might actually enjoy my time in the Officer's Academy. 

* * *

During the orientation the students were separated into groups of eight. Each group was given an initial task where they needed to find a certain location in Garreg Mach and then find a clue within that location. Sounded simple enough but each clue was made like a little riddle to make things a bit more interesting. Another task during the orientation was get to know the people within your group. When reaching the end goal any member of the group could be asked a simple question about somebody else from their group.

My group seemed quite interesting. There were 3 boys, all nobles from the looks of it, and 4 girls including myself. It was hard to tell which girls were nobles, I was sure I could make friends with at least some of these people. After all, every noble carried the responsibility for their family and that was even more true for those attending Garreg Mach. But I found it odd there was a group member missing right from the beginning.

"We are one member short, but do not worry, everyone, as it was meant to be this way. Edelgard’s retainer Hubert was supposed to be in this group, however he was asked to help Edelgard manage the event. It will not affect our participation in this event, so let us not worry and start with introductions," said a confident-looking young man with orange hair. He carried an air of dignity, maybe even a bit arrogance, around him. 

"If this Hubert person is busy then it cannot be helped! I'll just start then. My name is Dorothea! I am an opera singer, but I bet you already knew that!" Dorothea replied cheerfully, showering everybody with the most gorgeous smile. She was certainly beautiful and self-confident, and for a good reason. As a renowned opera singer there was not a noble in all Fodlan that would not have heard her name. I even had the pleasure of attending one of her plays, when my parents were trying to establish me in noble society, and I had to admit that her singing voice was that of an angel.

"Yes, I am sure that you are recognized by many students among Garreg Mach, including myself. But I am also sure you all have heard of me as well! My name is Ferdinand von Aegir and I am the Prime Minister's son! I could have been the house leader this year, but alas I had to gracefully decline the position in favor of Edelgard to show how true leaders can arise even without being given the title!" Ferdinand says with his nose so high that I thought it would poke a hole in the sky. Although certainly have heard of Prime Minister and his son, he definitely did not have the same type of authoritative aura that Edelgard emitted. Most likely he was never even considered to be the house leader due to Edelgard, but I would never dare to actually say that to him.

“This is all so useless and bothersome! I’ll just go and take a nap,” a green-haired boy yawned and left before anyone could even protest. Later I found out that his name is Linhardt and that napping was probably his favorite activity. So irresponsible for a noble.

“I-is it al-al-alright to l-l-leave? I-I am g-going back to my r-room! BYE!” A short girl with messy, purple hair darted off as quickly as she could. Her name was Bernadetta and later I learned that it was actually surprising that she had shown up for the event in the first place as she spent most of her time coped up in her room. I imagined that she probably had a lot of anxiety to be so scared of leaving.

“HEY, you two! It is NOT alright to leave! COME BACK!” A short young boy with blue hair yelled and gave both runaways a chase. His name was Caspar and it seems like he had a strong sense of justice.

“I am not understanding why are they leaving? Should we not be participated… sorry, no… participating in the event?” A sleek girl with a braid pondered. She had an accent and it was clear that she was not from Fodlan. 

“Yes, we really should. But they already left, so I do not think chasing them will improve our chances of completing the orientation. I shall reprimand them on their behavior later! For now, let’s just finish the introductions,” Ferdinand tried to salvage the situation although I did not know whether we were even allowed to participate with just half of the initial group.

“Alright! My name is Petra and I am from Brigid. I do not speak language of Fodlan very well, so I am apologizing for any mistakes I am making,” Petra gave a little bow, embarrassed about her imperfect speech. She was clearly trying very hard to speak right and quite honestly her broken Fodlan language did not bother me too much. Her heart was in the right place after all and she was behaving very politely.

“I am Amber von Lichtenberg and I am pleased to meet everyone… who has not left,” I gave the group a slightly awkward smile. Nobody really seemed to be interested in me and soon Dorothea and Ferdinand started bickering about where the first checkpoint might be. It seems like my group was indeed interesting, but not in a good way.

* * *

Disaster. That is how I would describe the orientation event. 

After Linhardt, Bernadetta and Caspar left, I hoped that things would get better, but they did not. We did not even manage to get to the first checkpoint when Caspar rushed back somehow convincing everybody that we needed Linhardt and Bernadetta to continue the event. I honestly have no idea why everybody agreed to do that when 10 minutes ago we agreed to continue without them.

We somehow managed to find Linhardt, who was blissfully napping under a tree, however he refused to budge. Caspar and Ferdinand were both chastising him for a good half an hour before Linhardt finally got up and joined us, probably just to shut those two up.

Afterwards we went to get Bernadetta. First problem was that nobody knew which room she was occupying. I suggested asking a professor, but Ferdinand said that it would be inappropriate to bother professors for such small things and proceeded to search every room one by one. It was quite embarrassing, watching how he knocked on every door and apologized every time it was not Bernadetta.

When we finally did find Bernadetta’s room, she refused to even open the door, much less come out. At one point, Caspar wanted to break down the door and it took all of us to hold him back. Eventually Bernadetta started screaming something about death and how her final hour had come, so we decided to leave her be. Nothing we said would help her anymore, instead it would just stress her out more. 

Two hours passed since the beginning of the event and some groups had already finished. Realizing this problem Ferdinand suggested that we all split up and each go find a checkpoint on our own and later meet up in front of the dormitories. Naturally, that was considered cheating and our group was disqualified as soon as the staff found out. Why did this orientation have to be like a race instead of just friendly introduction is beyond me. Quite honestly I was rather mad that I had to go the stables alone in hopes of finding a checkpoint that might not even be there.

And worst of all – I got lost. I had no idea where I was or how to get back to the dormitory. I’ve been hopelessly circling somewhere between the pond, stables, the market and some halls within the monastery itself. Either my sense of direction was really, really bad or this monastery was a big, evil maze made to trap anybody who was foolish enough to wander around alone.

“Hey, are you, by any chance, lost?” a voice startled me as I was cursing my lacking sense of direction. I turned around to see a boy with dark brown hair and dazzling green eyes. His skin was tanner than anybody would normally have in Fodlan, so I guessed that he was a foreigner just like Petra. 

“Me? No, I am… I’m fine!” I stuttered, caught off guard by his sudden appearance. It was really embarrassing to admit that I got lost during the orientation event.

“Really? Can you point me in the direction of dormitories then?” he showed a mischievous, but at the same time a very charming smile.

“Um… They’re that way?” I pointed in a random direction, hoping to be right as my cheeks slowly started to feel hotter and hotter. 

“Unless you sleep in the stables, I do not think that is the right way,” he gave me a hearty laugh and I could not help but to spin around and start walking away in embarrassment, face as red as a ripe tomato. This day could not get much worse.

“Hey, hey! Don’t run! I’m sorry! I didn't mean to tease you too much. I honestly just want to help out,” the boy quickly caught up to me and lifted his arms up as if to show that he means no harm. 

“Let’s start again. My name is Claude von Riegan, leader of Golden Deer house, and today I shall personally escort you, dear lady, back to your quarters. If the lady shall allow me the pleasure, of course!” Claude gave me another charming smile and bowed down low before me. The sight was so silly that I could not help but start laughing.

“I’m Amber von Lichtenberg and I would be honored to be escorted back to my quarters,” I humored him with a bow of my own and Claude started laughing as well.

“Excellent! Follow me then!” He gestured and I followed after him, happy that I would not need to wander around this maze anymore.

On our way to the dorms I explained to Claude, how I ended up lost during orientation, told him about my group and their shenanigans during the event. Claude was laughing the whole time which made me laugh in return. In the beginning I was quite mad about how everything turned out but with this boy laughing and making various jokes, I could not help but feel much better. 

Claude also explained that I am not the first student to get lost in Garreg Mach because the place was quite huge. We also talked about a lot of unimportant things like weather, flowers and the weird-looking cloud in the sky. I thought it looked like a pegasus while Claude was convinced it was a wyvern. The conversation between us was so silly yet at the same time, I forgot all about nervousness of studying together with the Imperial princess, anger towards my chaotic classmates and frustration of getting lost on the first day.

As we arrived in the dormitory, I felt a bit disappointed that I had to part from this cheerful person.

“Well, I have safely escorted the princess back to her castle! I hope you shall now excuse this humble knight, as he still has a few things to do,” Claude resumes his jokes again and I giggled a little bit.

“You may be excused, great knight! Go slay whatever monsters haunt our lands,” I reply, trying to seem serious, but I still crack a smile here and there. Nobody ever joked around with me back at home. It was always somebody teaching me or commanding me how to do things or how not to do things. Even my siblings mostly came to me, searching for help rather than to play with me. Claude being friendly, kind and silly really warmed my heart.

“Excellent! I hope to see you around! Certainly would love to chat with someone as fun as you again,” Claude gave me one last smile, winked and left to attend to his matters.

First day at Garreg Mach certainly was a day that I would not forget anytime soon or possibly ever. Especially meeting Claude. I had to admit that he had charmed me right from the start. The only thing I could hope for is that one day I would call this young man my friend. Or maybe I wished for something more even if it was probably impossible...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Hoped you like this first chapter of my story. This my first fanfiction, so I would love to receive some feedback. If anybody would like to be a beta reader for me, I would be very grateful! :)  
> Thanks for reading!


	2. New Professors

I was a fool. A complete and utter fool who has completely and utterly forgotten her place in this world. And I realized this only late at night in my bed while contemplating about the events that happened on the first day at Garreg Mach Monastery. Claude von Riegan. He was not just any random noble. No, he was the grandson of Duke Riegan and the next leader of the Leicester Alliance. For some reason, my brain only realized this 7 hours after meeting him. 

In terms of social standing, he was on equal footing with Edelgard and Prince Dimitri from the Holy Kingdom of Faergus. It was inappropriate to casually joke around with someone like that as if they were your best friend or sibling. Why had he not reprimanded me? Maybe he was just too polite? Or maybe he was just testing me and later I would pay the price!

“I am such a fool! As soon as I leave my home, I forget everything my parents have ever taught me,” I cried out into my pillow, cursing this day and praying to the goddess to erase it from history. If my parents knew, they would be disappointed beyond belief.

My thoughts kept haunting me and conjuring up new horror scenarios for about two more hours until I finally drifted into sleep. But even in my sleep, I could not find peace. I kept dreaming about my orientation group and Claude, all of them showing their disdain towards me and my horrendous behavior. 

Next morning I felt rather horrible, lacking proper rest. Luckily, lectures would only start on the next day, so I was free to rest. The three house leaders were sent on a short training exercise on this day to help them learn about leadership. They were in charge of a lot of students plus they were future leaders of their respective countries, so any extra experience was valuable.

It meant that there was no chance of seeing Claude. While it was a bit sad from one point of view, from another it meant that there was time for him to forget my silly actions and time for me to think of a way to address him next time we meet. 

As I was rather tired from a bad night’s sleep, I decided to relax and just spend the day unpacking my belongings, cleaning the room and organizing everything. After that was done and my energy levels increased a little bit, I decided to go for a meal at the dining hall. I feared that I would just keep wandering around in circles in the Monastery just like yesterday. But since there was no pressure of a race and no students running around like headless chickens, I could look around calmly. In reality Garreg Mach was not as big a maze as I had initially thought. Go up from the dorm and you get to the training grounds, go down and you will find the greenhouse. There is a pond next to the greenhouse and dining hall right next to the pond. In the center there was the reception hall, entrance hall and market. If I could remember these locations, then I would probably find my way around the Monastery just fine.

* * *

It was supposed to be the first day of studies, however the archbishop Lady Rhea announced that the studies were postponed until the next day. Apparently, while the house leaders were camping, they were attacked by some bandits. Luckily nobody was hurt, but only because some mercenaries intervened. It was shocking to know that there were people out there who were ready to attack the next Emperor, King and Duke Sovereign all at the same time. The guilty person would essentially have three giant armies chasing after them.

And there’s more. Apparently one of the mercenaries who saved the royal highnesses was none other than the famous Blade Breaker - Jeralt Eisner himself. I’ve heard many stories about him. He was one of the best Knights of Seiros and essentially a hero known throughout the Fodlan. As a child I listened to every of his stories and wished I could meet this amazing, selfless man. And I might get a chance to actually meet him, because he was returning to the Monastery to serve as a knight once more.

And the surprises do not end there. Apparently Jeralt’s son Beleth and daughter Byleth will become teachers at the Officer’s Academy. The whole Monastery was in an uproar that somebody barely older than students would become a teacher. Girls were giggling and gossiping at the thought of a young, handsome professor while boys were excited to about the new female teacher. But most agreed that Jeralt should have been appointed a teacher. How much did these two young people actually know about teaching, politics, history and other things that students were required to learn. I believed they probably had learned a lot about combat and battle tactics from Jeralt, but could they actually convey that knowledge to others. Only time would tell. Quite honestly, I was sceptical. But I did not know what was going on behind the scenes. Perhaps there was a really good reason for them to be appointed as teachers and it was not just Archbishops whim.

In any case, all these events meant that I would have another nice day to relax. I intended to go explore the Monastery, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jeralt and his children, but it seems like other students had the same idea. All of Garreg Mach was bustling with life, students and knights alike running around the place, unable to hide their excitement. It was even busier than during the orientation. I thought it was a bit too noisy and overcrowded, so I decided to go back to my room. Perhaps people would calm down with time. 

But as I was about to enter my room, I heard an explosion coming from the room next to mine, followed by a rather acidic smell and a voice of a young man cursing. First I wondered whether I should ignore the matter altogether but my conscience got the better of me.

"Excuse me, is everything alright?" I carefully knocked on the door, afraid it might suddenly burst into flame or fly open in my face.

"Yes! It's fine! Just give me a moment" The resident of the room replied and I could hear things falling and crashing as he was probably scrambling to open the door. As the door opened, I saw none other than Claude himself, disheveled, confused and surrounded by smoke.

"Claude?! Are you alright?" I asked while trying to hold back the urge to cough.

"Amber! I'm fine, I'm fine! The only thing hurt is my pride. Didn't expect you to be the one to catch me at my hour of failure," he gave me a sheepish grin and tried to fix his messy hair. To no avail.

"What was that noise? Sounded like an explosion," I said and tried to peek inside his room. It was impossible to tell what was what with all the smoke in the room.

"Don't worry about it! My experiment just didn't go quite like I planned," Claude explained while coughing and trying to waft away the smoke. 

"Do you need any help cleaning it up?" I also coughed and covered my nose with the sleeve of my uniform.

"Ehh… Let me open the window real quick!” Claude quickly ran back inside his room and slammed the window open. Smoke finally started to clear. “I suppose help would be nice! Thanks!" 

It took a few minutes for smoke to clear enough for me to see the disaster in all its glory. Everything covered in black soot, a giant black mark in the middle of the room, broken vials and shards of glass covering the floor.

“Did you try to summon the devil?! How did this happen?” I exclaimed in shock. At that moment I could not fathom how this troublemaker could ever become the reigning sovereign of Leicester Alliance. He would just blow up the whole continent!

“Quite honestly I am a bit amazed myself! But you already promised to help out so there is no escape now!” Claude grinned and I just signed dramatically. So much for a free day.

“Well, let’s begin then! Go and fetch a bucket of water and a mop! I’ll start by sweeping the floor and dusty shelves… Oh! All the bed linen is dirty too! We’ll have to wash that as well!”

“Wow! I was actually joking! I never expected that a noble’s daughter would start cleaning up such a mess without batting an eye!”

Realization hit me like lightning from a clear sky. I was acting completely inappropriate for my status! Again! It’s like in Claude’s presence all my life’s training to be a proper noble just flew out the window and then waved a mocking goodbye.

“I mean… we should probably call some servants…” I tried to feign ignorance and get myself out of this mess, but Claude clearly was not buying it. Unlike before his face was stern and it seemed like he was measuring my every movement.

“Why would a noble’s daughter even suggest doing such menial tasks as cleaning? Have you not been raised to have proper etiquette and manner? And to walk so shamelessly into a man’s room! What would your parents think of you?!” Claude’s face was growing more stern and his voice more dramatic with every word. I was feeling like I was ready to dig a hole and just sit in it until the end of my days.

“I… I…” I could just open and close my mouth like a fish out of water. I did not know what to say or what to do to rectify the situation.

And then Claude started laughing.

“Hahaha! Man, you should see your face! It’s as if your whole life was about to end! I can’t believe you actually bought that!” Claude was holding his stomach, unable to hold his laughter. I on the other hand felt incredibly confused.

“What?” I uttered, shocked by my own naivete. How could I have fallen for such a trick! Everything that came out of this guy’s mouth was nothing more than nonsense.

“I’m sorry! I really did not think you would take it so seriously!” Claude straightened himself out and wiped away a tear from all the laughing. I felt like the biggest fool in the world. I turned around and was ready to leave without another word, but Claude grabbed my shoulder before I could step outside his room.

“I’m really sorry, okay? I just wanted to tease you a little! I took the joke too far. I’m really not the sort of guy to care about etiquette and manners and such things, alright! Lorenz is doing that enough for all the nobles in the Monastery! You can just relax around me!” His smile was now gentle and it seemed to me like he was actually sorry for what he did. “Please don’t leave! I don’t know how I am going to clean this by myself!” 

“Alright, but you must promise not to do such mean jokes anymore! Deal?” 

“Deal!” Claude brought out his signature smile.

“Excellent! Now go get that bucket and mop!”

“Right away, my lady!”

After Claude got all the necessary supplies, we both rolled up our sleeves and started cleaning. It took us almost 4 hours to get everything in a somewhat decent state, but it was fun. Claude told me about his encounter with bandits and how he, Edelgard and Dimitri ran to some mercenaries for help. How he had fought alongside the mercenaries and about their strength and tactical prowess on the battlefield. He told me about Jeralt and his two children. How Beleth moved with strength that could level mountains and Byleth with precision and grace that could make a pegasus look clumsy. Apparently all three house leaders wanted to recruit both mercenaries to serve their respective countries, but in the end neither Beleth nor Byleth promised anything. Today Lady Rhea and some other professors would explain every house to the siblings so they could choose a house and class they wished to teach. Claude explained that he did everything to coax Byleth into choosing the Golden Deer as he believed she could teach them a lot of things. By the way he described her, I could not help but believe that she would indeed become a great teacher.

* * *

It was finally time to start studies. For real this time. I was rather excited so I went to class early and as expected only a few other students had arrived before me. Classroom was relatively small, I imagined it could not fit more than 30 students inside it. But since each house was further separated into classes, that was not a problem. The real question was - who would be my classmates and who would be our teacher? Maybe it could be one of the new professors.

Soon enough more and more students arrived. Petra arrived soon after me and we decided to sit next to each other. She still did not feel too comfortable in a foreign country so I offered to help her out with anything she didn’t understand. Petra was probably the only person I actually liked from our orientation group. She was a nice, polite and down-to-earth kind of person. Others from the group had very… interesting personalities. I’m sure that my opinion of at least some of them might change but for now, I decided to be careful around them. Especially Ferdinand. Somehow I was sure that if I did not behave like a proper noble in front of him, he would not dismiss it with a joke like Claude did. I hoped that maybe he would not be in my class.

Unfortunately, he was. Ferdinand, Caspar, Linhardt, Bernadetta and Dorothea were all in my class. And there’s more - Edelgard and her servant Hubert were also in my class. When I saw them come in, I swear the color drained from my face. 

“Are you feeling good? Your face became pale with suddenness,” Petra asked.

“I’m alright! Just nervous a little bit,” I explained and thankfully Petra did not push the matter any further.

“Everyone, please, take your seat. We shall begin!” A male voice instantly calmed any ongoing chatter in the classroom that increased when Edelgard had arrived. In fact the voice was so stern that everybody instantly rushed to their seats. I looked toward our new teacher and was honestly shocked. He was a handsome young man, barely older than us, with blank expression and short, dark green hair. He was not wearing the uniform like other teachers, but instead was dressed more like a mercenary, as if ready for battle.

“My name is Beleth Eisner and from today on, I will be your teacher!” 

* * *

“Please, tell me what have you studied before coming to the Academy?” Professor Beleth asked me, his eyes glued to me, expressionless while he held a pen, ready to write down everything I was about to say. 

Professor Beleth definitely was not your everyday teacher. Instead of lecturing us on the history of Fodlan, the foundation of Garreg Mach or theoretical battle scenarios, he just grabbed the bull by its horns. He invited every student to have a one-on-one talk with him, just to get to know us better. When my turn finally arrived, my heart was racing like crazy and my hands were shaking. I definitely was not ready to be left alone with this handsome, yet emotionless ex-mercenary professor. His demeanor scared me, because it was impossible to tell what he was feeling or thinking. It was very uncomfortable for me, a person who wears her emotions on her sleeve, to be around someone like Beleth. 

“Well… I studied the history of Fodlan, church’s teachings, a little bit of politics…” Professor lifted his hand signaling me to stop. I flinched, afraid of saying anything wrong.

“What have you studied that could prove useful in battle?” He paraphrased the question and I calmed down a little bit. Beleth did not seem mad. I had no idea what kind of image was he forming of me.

“I learned a bit of swordsmanship, horse riding, both offensive and healing magic, bow shooting..” I said and the Professor just noted everything down without saying a word.

“In what did you excel at?” 

“Um… I’m… not sure. I liked horseback riding,” I answered truthfully but my voice was meek.

“All right. You may go,” Professor just kept writing something and I decided to just leave without asking anything. He made me really nervous and I was happy to get away and calm myself down. Professor Beleth was like the exact opposite of Claude. While Claude was cheerful and outgoing and fun, Professor was quiet, emotionless and more like a puppet than a person. I was quite scared to imagine that I would have to learn from this teacher for a year. How would he react if I messed something up? Would he be mad? Would he just stare at me with those emotionless eyes? Would he reprimand me in front of everybody, pointing out my weaknesses? I had no clue. Quite honestly, the wall in my room had more personality than Beleth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter is out! I surprised at how long it turned out to be. Hopefully you'll enjoy it! :)


	3. Mock Battle

This academy really did not beat around the bush. On the 30th of Great Tree Moon, the first mock battle was planned between the three houses. Not all students would participate, only 5 from each class so approximately 25 from each house. It was an honor to be chosen for the mock battle, so everybody always tried their hardest to be chosen. I also wanted to participate, however that might be harder than I initially thought. And here’s why.

After everybody had that little chat/interrogation with professor Beleth, he noted down everyone’s possible strengths and weaknesses and proposed a possible starting class for each student. For example, Edelgard was good with axes so the professor suggested her to be a Fighter. Linhardt was an excellent healer so he was suggested to become a Monk. I did NOT get a suggestion. 

“You’ve studied a lot of things so it is impossible to tell what class would suit you the best,” Professor Beleth stated plainly. I was a bit shocked. I had hoped to become a Myrmidon, since I’ve practiced using a sword, but the Professor did not seem to have much faith in what I said. At least I was not the only one like that. Dorothea and Bernadetta also stayed in the grey area.

“So which exam should I take, Professor? We do need to choose a class for the mock battle and for future battles as well,” I dared to ask.

“We shall determine that in tomorrow’s practical class. Meet me in the Training Grounds at 8 a.m. This includes everybody, even those who did get a suggestion,” Beleth commanded as if we were his mercenary group not students. I prayed that the Professor would only make us demonstrate our skills on dummies or maybe each other. I prayed that he would not make us spar with himself.

* * *

8 a.m. in the morning. Everybody was standing in the Training Grounds, waiting to find out what exactly Professor Beleth had in mind.

“What is going to happen? Could we actually get a chance to spar with the Professor?” Caspar shifted excitedly next to me. His hands were clenched into fists and it was clear that he was itching for a fight. I on the other hand loathed the idea of having to fight the Professor. Although I had learned swordfighting and a bit of magic, I cannot say that I was too good at fighting other people. Mostly it was due to my size. I was rather short, so most of my opponents had further reach. They could get to me before I could get to them. Not to mention that I was not physically strong. I was in good shape, but I don’t think my body was built for physical strength and prowess. As for offensive magic - I was not good at controlling my aim, so I mostly missed my target. Plus I hated the idea of burning somebody’s flesh. Burn wounds hurt more and heal way worse than regular wounds. And I did not wish to inflict unnecessary suffering onto people, even if they were my enemies.

“Good morning! Today you all will spar with me one on one, so I could determine which class would suit you!” Professor Beleth announced what I feared the most. I could have handled sparing one on one against one of the classmates, but now I’ll have to humiliate myself. There was no way I could actually decently spar with an experienced mercenary. I sighed. No escape from this, just have to try my best.

“Professor! I want to go first! Can I please go first?! Please!” Caspar rushed to the Professor and almost started begging him on his knees.

“As long as nobody minds,” Beleth stated and scanned over all the students. When nobody said anything, he nodded in approval.

“YES!” Caspar was way too excited. But I was pretty sure Beleth would make quick work of him.

“Come at me with everything you’ve got,” Professor said and straightened his posture. It did not look like he was about to fight. Instead it seemed like he was just enjoying the scenery. But I’m sure the Professor knew what he was doing when it came to fighting.

“Alright! Don’t regret this later!” Caspar grabbed a training axe and ran towards the professor, yelling very loudly. Was that meant to be a battle cry? I noted to never bring Caspar to any stealth missions, if we ever are to have one.

As Caspar closed in on the Professor, he swung his axe sideways with as much force as possible as if ready to cut the man half. Beleth just stepped backwards and avoided the swing. Caspar did not relent and just kept swinging his axe from all possible angles, hoping to hit the Professor at least once. But ex-mercenary just kept dodging all the blows as if Caspar was going in slow-motion. Then Professor grabbed a training sword that was hanging by his belt and knocked Caspar’s axe out of his arm with one swift swing.

“Not bad. You need to work on your footwork and aim. Fighter class would be well suited for you,” Beleth stated. For a moment I thought I saw something resembling a small grin on Beleth’s face, but wasn’t sure. Maybe I just imagined it.

“Dangit! I’ll get you next time!”

"Petra, you're next!" The Professor calls out and Petra eagerly goes to face him. 

Everyone is defeated by the Professor rather quickly, except for Edelgard who managed to hold her ground a bit longer than others. I was impressed how swiftly she was swinging an axe with a physique not that different from mine. She must have trained very hard before coming to the Officer’s Academy.

I, however, was probably the one who was defeated the quickest. Not sure if my nerves got the best of me, but my performance was awful. Instead of trying to use the sword effectively, I just rushed forward with sword pointed straight at him. Obviously he just swatted my sword away like it was nothing more than a fly.

“Swords may not be well suited for you. You know magic, right? Why not use it?” The Professor inquired.

“Yes, but my aim with magic is really bad. I’m afraid I might hit one of the other students. Also I don't like using magic in battle,” I admitted quietly, hoping that my classmates were too preoccupied with themselves to pay any attention to me.

“Alright. But you need to find a suitable weapon for yourself. Try lances. You might be better with a weapon that has longer reach,” he explained to me. His reasoning was sound, but could he really determine that I was not suited for using swords in those few minutes we spent sparring. It was worth a shot, because I never had felt comfortable using a sword.

* * *

Lances. What was even the correct way of using one? Should I just jab people with it? Is there a special technique? These and many other questions were running through my mind as I held a lance in my arms for the first time. 

My parents got me a teacher for swordfighting, but it was more like a mandatory thing to learn for a noble. In reality they wanted me to excel in offensive magic - it would make me powerful on the battlefield and it was more common for noblewomen to know magic. Unfortunately, I neither liked it nor was good at it.

Lances intrigued me. They were light and long and, in theory, should give me the upper hand I needed to beat my opponents. I wished to understand this weapon better to show something worthwhile to professor Beleth and have the opportunity to be chosen for the mock battle. If I would just wait until the next practical lesson, then most likely I will not learn enough to be chosen for the battle.

“Hey, kid, do you need help with that?” A man’s voice spoke to me. I turned around to see none other than Blade Breaker Jeralt himself. For a second I thought that I would drop the lance. Was it really Jeralt who was speaking to me? I knew that he was now residing in the Monastery, but I never actually expected to meet him face to face.

“Oh… this… I just want to learn how to use it. To be chosen for the mock battle,” I stated and took this opportunity to admire the great Knight of Seiros. He was a rather tall man, scars adorning his physique from the many battles he had lived through. It was impossible to tell his age, but I would guess he was approximately 50 years old. Maybe younger because I could not see a single gray hair on him.

“I can teach you the basics, if you want,” Jeralt suggested and my jaw nearly dropped to the ground. The great Jeralt was willing to teach me! I would be a fool to decline such a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“Really? I would love that!” Excitement in my voice was very apparent, so Jeralt gave me a little smile.

“Alright, calm down now. No need to lose your socks! Let’s start with your stance,” Jeralt walked up to me and took the lance from me to demonstrate the correct stance.

“See how my knees are bent, I’m holding the lance with both hands and pointing it upwards. If I would point it downwards, then it might dig into the ground and make me fall. That is especially important for someone short like you,” Jeralt did not do any idle talk. He instructed me masterfully, as if he had done this his whole life. Maybe he had. He was probably the one who taught professor Beleth how to fight. It really made me wonder why was he not appointed a teacher? He’d be great!

Jeralt handed the lance back to me and I did my best to imitate the stance he’d just shown me.

“Alright, not bad! Now let’s go over to those training dummies,” Jeralt said and I obediently followed him. “Try stabbing one.” 

I was not sure how to approach this task so I just jabbed the dummy like one would jab a fish on a spear.

“Okay. Now that is not the right way to do it! You are too rigid. Use the stance I just showed you and try swaying in your knees. Then stab the dummy from either side,” Jeralt noted, his tone calm, even encouraging I would say.

I gripped the lance tightly and took the fighting stance. Then just as Jeralt suggested I tried to stab the dummy from the sides. I could feel that it was still far from perfect, but it was a step up from what I had done previously.

“That’s better. Now try moving more fluently, relax your grip and keep doing it for the next hour,” Jeralt instructed. Doing the same thing for an hour sounded very tiring and boring, but I knew that without training I would never be chosen for the mock battle.

“Alright! I would really appreciate it if you could stay and watch even for just a few more minutes, sir,” I asked as politely as I could and Jeralt furrowed his brow a little.

“Just call me Jeralt and I’ll watch for the next half an hour. I don’t like being addressed so formally.”

“Alright, si- Jeralt!” I felt a bit uncomfortable just calling Jeralt by his name, but if he wanted that then I had no reason to go against his wishes.

“Excellent! You may begin now. I’ll point out your mistakes,” he gave me a small smile and sat down on one of the benches nearby. I felt so excited that I could not help but grin to myself almost the whole time Jeralt was instructing me. He was strict, but very patient. It was probably at this moment and thanks to this man that I decided that lances would be my weapon of choice.

* * *

Jeralt's training did miracles. On the next practical lesson, professor Beleth said that I did much better with a lance and that I should take the exam for Soldier class. And after I learned some more lance maneuvers with professor Beleth, passing the exam for Soldier class was easy. It was a beginner's exam so I should not feel too proud. But I was happy regardless.

What I should be proud of is the fact that Beleth chose me to participate in the mock battle. 

"I chose you because you have improved more than anyone else with a weapon you have never even used before," he explained.

But as soon as I got chosen, I got really nervous. I would have to battle alongside Edelgard, Hubert, Ferdinand and Linhardt. Could I actually live up to everyone’s expectations? Could I contribute to Black Eagles’ victory? I will certainly do everything within my power to win the mock battle for my house.

* * *

Waiting for the mock battle to arrive seemed like waiting for a snail to crawl to a mountaintop. I was nervous the whole week before the battle so to ease my nerves I just kept going to the training area. Occasionally I would spar against Petra, Ferdinand or Caspar, but mostly I was slashing away at the dummies. It was quite excruciating and I just counted days and hours until the battle. Once it was time for the mock battle, it seemed to be over faster than I could say “Battle is over''. 

Each house was commanded by their teacher, meaning that Black Eagles were led by Beleth, Golden Deer by Byleth and Blue Lion by Manuela. This mock battle was the first time I actually got to see Beleth’s sister Byleth. Manuela I’ve met before in the infirmary after I accidentally cut my hand during training.

Byleth looked exactly like Beleth if he was female. Same dark green hair, same eyes, even their posture and demeanor seemed the same. However one big difference was their expression. Professor Beleth seemed like an emotionless soldier while Byleth seemed a bit more expressive (by comparison). I could see her show tiny smiles or nods of approval whenever one of the Golden Deer came to talk to her. That was especially apparent whenever she talked to Claude. This did not surprise me at all as Claude could probably make even rock smile if he tried hard enough. Alas there was not a lot of time for me to learn a lot about Byleth as battle was about to begin.

Professor Beleth’s strategy was simple yet effective - use forest for cover. All of the Black Eagles quickly positioned themselves inside the forest and waited for the enemies to approach us first. I was quite nervous when Beleth ordered me to take the front row position because it meant enemies would come right for me. And they would be able to attack me first. But it turns out that sitting in the woods gave quite a tactical advantage.

Blue Lions headed straight for our location and when the first of them charged for me, I was honestly quite scared.

“Hide in the trees and bushes! Dodge every hit that you can!” Professor called out, being in the very middle of our front row formation.

I listened to him and when the boy with a sword from the Blue Lions charged at me, I ducked inside a nearby bush and then counterattacked him with a lance. After that Ferdinand, who was positioned next to me, finished him off.

“Nice going!” Ferdinand praised me. I was amazed that I could actually participate in this battle successfully.

The Black Eagles kept holding their position in the forest, but after we had taken out about fourth of all Blue Lions, they decided to change their strategy and focus on the Golden Deer. Unfortunately for them, they were a bit too late. While we were safely taking out the Lions from the forest, Golden Deer were attacking them from behind, essentially creating a pincer attack. Needless to say that the Blue Lions lost. Manuela later said that she was a nurse and a teacher, not a tactician. I had to agree that a teacher who mostly worked with healing indeed was not fair match against two experienced mercenaries.

The real contest started when we had to face Golden Deer. They were led by Byleth and she obviously would not fall for such a simple hide-in-the-forest trick. She led the assault on us herself with Claude and Ignatz covering her from behind. Byleth swiftly started taking out Black Eagles from the sidelines forcing us out of the forest.

“Melee attackers, form a defensive line around healers and mages! Archers, stay in the back!” Beleth commanded and then two forces clashed on equal grounds. Beleth took on his sister as no student could possibly match her skill. Lances clashed against lances, swords against swords and my heart was beating like crazy from the adrenaline.

“I’m sorry, milady, but I shall have to defeat you now! You may drop your weapon and then I will not have to hurt you,” a boy with odd purple hair and a mannerism similar to Ferdinand’s challenged me. The fact that he suggested that I should just give up, really made me mad.

“I’m afraid I’m not so easy to beat!” I said as I lunged at him with my lance, hitting his arm. He looked a bit shocked, almost insulted, for a moment, but then quickly recovered. And then something odd happened. As he was about to attack me with his lance, I could feel the surge of heat flowing through my body and my Crest activating. The purple-haired boy just froze in his tracks. I took the opportunity and pointed my lance right towards his heart. 

“You’re out!” I declared. But before I could even enjoy my victory, I felt something hard hit my chest. A dummy arrow.

“And you’re out too!” Claude called out from behind the purple-haired boy, flashing me a mischievous grin. I was dumbfounded. He was hiding behind his allies so I never even noticed him approaching. I wanted to say to Claude that he was playing dirty, but the battle was not over yet, so I had no choice but to leave the battlefield.

In the end, the mock battle was a draw between Black Eagles and Golden Deer, because Byleth and Beleth were the last ones left standing. They were fighting each other for quite a while, but once it was evident that they were evenly matched, Jeralt called the battle even and grumbled something about “taking the whole fun out of it”. 

But in the evening it was not the exciting battle that was on my mind. It was my Crest. I had a Crest of Lamine, a Crest that is supposed to conserve uses of recovery magic. It shouldn’t even manifest unless I am healing somebody. But it manifested during battle. I am not even sure what it did, but I felt it appear for sure. How could this even happen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished this chapter! It took a long time, but I got some great ideas for future chapters. Hopefully you enjoy! :)


	4. Meaningful Conversations

Crests, crests, crests. What made them so special? What made them so powerful that me being born with one meant prestige for my whole family? I never really bothered to ask these questions. My mother told me that a crest was proof of your bloodline. It was proof that you were worthy of being nobility. But what does that even mean?

I had grabbed every book in the library I could find about crests, but there was nothing in these library books that I already did not know. Most books preached of Saint Seiros, Ten Elites and Four Saints, and how crests gave powers to its owners. A crest could increase the power of your attacks or conserve uses of magic. But most crests could only be used in war. A crest won’t activate to help a person to plow the land or milk a cow or build a house. Aside from healing, they were of no use to civilians. And even when healing, a crest won’t cure an illness, only a flesh wound. Why was it that way?

And what was my crest exactly. After reading all these books, I knew one thing for certain. I could not have the Crest of Lamine. It could manifest while healing, but my crest manifested during battle. The sad thing was that my parents probably knew the truth about my crest. I always thought it was weird that I never got to learn healing magic directly. I only knew a little bit about it because I asked my offensive magic teacher to teach me. Why would my parents not hire a white magic teacher when my crest was supposed to amplify it? The answer was clear and painful. Because they knew that my real crest had nothing to do with healing and they did not want me to find out.

The more I thought about these things, the more confused I got. I just wanted to go back home to confront my parents, but I could not just abandon my studies without notice. It would take at least a week to get from Garreg Mach to my home.

“You sure seem to be deep in thought,” I nearly screamed. Claude just suddenly popped up from behind my shoulder, eyeing at the books I was reading.

“Goddess! Claude! You can’t just sneak up on people like that!”

“I did call your name before, but you didn’t hear me. What are you up to with all these books on crests?” Claude asked. He was still smiling but his eyes were unusually serious. It felt like he was proding into my mind, trying to find out my every thought.

“Oh, this... I just got curious! I’ve never actually learned much about crests,” I said with a fake smile and quickly closed the opened books. I certainly was not comfortable talking about my fake crest with anybody. It anybody from the Monastery knew, not only could I get into big trouble, but I could endanger my family as well. 

“Seems a bit of an overkill for just some curiosity,” he leaned in closer and looked deep into my eyes, searching for answers that even I did not have. I averted my gaze and got up from the chair. He was pushing this topic too much for my liking.

“I’m sorry, I have to go now! See you later!” I grabbed books, dropped them off in front of the librarian Tomas and left the library. It was a rude thing I did, but I felt too confused. My head was in a daze already from realizing that my parents had lied to me and Claude getting all up in my business was not helping. I just wanted some answers.

* * *

Seemed like the Harpstring Moon would be quite an ordeal for everyone. I knew that during our time in the academy, we would be sent on real missions and participate in real combat. But when professor Beleth announced that this month our mission was to eradicate some bandits in the Kingdom territory, my heart sank. It meant that I would actually have to battle… and kill somebody. This thought alone almost made me lose all of the determination I had coming to the Garreg Mach. I wasn’t ready.

“I know that most of you have never killed before, so you better prepare yourself both physically and mentally,” Beleth warned us. I avoided looking at the Professor. He had probably killed many, many people and this thought made my stomach churn. 

I never expected that this topic would shake me up so much. In fact, I was so shaken that lesson had long since ended but I was still sitting in my seat, staring at the blackboard, my hands slightly shaking in my lap.

“Amber, are you alright? The lesson is over,” I flinched a little bit when I felt the Professor put his hand on my shoulder. It was surprisingly gentle and warm. His expression also seemed softer, concerned almost.

“I-I’m fine. Just worried about our first real mission. The thought of killing somebody scares me,” I admitted. I hated showing my weakness in front of other people, but Beleth’s unusually gentle touch reassured me.

“It would be weird if it didn’t,” Beleth said and I noticed how the corners of his lips lowered. Did he remember a bad memory? “Killing somebody is never easy, be it the first time or the 101st time.”

“So you don’t find killing people easy?” A rude question on my part, but I was honestly surprised how this supposedly ruthless mercenary actually struggled with killing people. I’ve heard rumors that he and his sister were called the Ashen Demons. At first I thought the name fitted them like a glove, but now I started to think the nickname might be an exaggeration.

“No. And I imagine you won’t either. But you will have to learn how to live with it. Remember that we are not going to kill innocents. These people attack others, steal their possessions, destroy homes and families. If they live, others will suffer,” the Professor said slowly, as if to help me accept the burden I’m about to carry on my shoulders.

“I understand, Professor. Thank you very much! When the time comes, I’ll be ready!” I stood up from my seat and gave the Professor a smile. His expression remained the same as always, but I could feel that he was not uncaring to the topic. Slowly I was starting to see that this ruthless mercenary was much more compassionate and caring than I could have imagined.

* * *

For the next few days I spent the whole day either at lectures or sparring with someone on the training grounds. I took the Professor’s words to heart and decided that I needed to do everything possible to increase the odds of successfully completing the mission. The stronger I became, the bigger the chance that I or one of my allies won't sustain an injury or worse. And I would rather kill a stranger than see my allies die or get injured. Also thinking about the upcoming mission helped me not to think about my crest.

Today I was sparring against Leonie from the Golden Deer House. One day we both ran into Jeralt and started asking him for training tips. We then discovered our mutual admiration for the Captain (that’s how Leonie calls him) and became fast friends. 

“Pay attention to your footwork. You can never win if you only use your upper body,” Leonie said, hitting me with a training lance from different angles. I tried to parry her attacks but eventually she overwhelmed me and I found myself with my face in the dirt.

“Sorry, was I too rough? I always forget that you don’t have much experience with lances yet,” Leonie quickly ran up to me and helped me get up. 

“It’s alright. You don’t need to hold back on my account. I want to catch up to both you and Jeralt, after all,” I said with a smile and Leonie smiled back. We both talked for a bit about our techniques and how to improve them, and then agreed to spar together again tomorrow. Of course, first we would try to catch Captain Jeralt so he would help us. I’m sure that he was getting annoyed with us by now, but he never expressed it and was always ready to help. It only proved to me what great man he is. 

As I was about to leave the training grounds, I ran into Claude. He waved his hand at me and gave me his signature smile.

“Hey, Amber! Training hard?” 

“Hello, Claude. Yeah, I want to be ready for our first real mission,” I explained and was ready to leave. After our little exchange in the library, I did not want to talk to Claude. I was afraid he would want to know more about my crest.

“Listen, Amber. I’m sorry about my behavior in the library. I shouldn’t have pushed you. I’m just the kind of guy who gets really curious about secrets. Can I make it up to you with a cup of tea and some sweets?” Claude gave an apologetic smile. It made me feel a little better, but I was still cautious. But a cup of tea couldn’t hurt, right?

“Alright. I’d love to have a cup of tea,” I smiled at him.

“Excellent! Go wash up and I’ll pick you up later, alright?”

“Yeah, I should be ready within an hour.” 

After approximately an hour, when I was done with my bath and had put one some clean clothes, I heard a knock on my door. My mood was much better than in the morning, and I even put on a nicer dress and styled my hair a little bit. Part of me was thinking it was probably too much, but the other part wanted to look nice. After all, I’ve been doing nothing but train since I got to Garreg Mach. I felt more like a soldier rather than a noble.

As I opened the door, Claude eyed me from head to toes and whistled. 

“Hey! Wow, you actually dressed up for me. You look great!” Claude said and showed a charming smile. He was probably just being polite, but I couldn't help but blush a little anyway.

“A noble lady must always take care of her appearance."

“Of course! Well, shall we go then?” 

“Yes.”

I followed Claude and he led me to the garden where tea and sweets have already been prepared. He gestured towards one of the chairs and I sat down. The atmosphere was very pleasant and relaxing. There were flowers all around, birds chirping in the background, quiet murmur of other students enjoying their time in the garden.

“Thank you for this! I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but train lately,” I said while Claude was pouring some tea for me.

“Yeah, I noticed. Seems like whenever I went to the training grounds, you were always there whether it was morning, day or evening,” Claude’s voice sounded a bit concerned and his eyebrows were furrowed. It felt quite nice to know that he cared for me, even if just a little bit.

“I guess, I’ve been just letting off some steam. Anyway, thank you for the tea,” I tried to steer the conversation away from the unpleasant topic that was constantly gnawing at the back of my mind. I quickly took a sip of the tea and was really surprised by its unusual flavour. “What is this tea? I’ve never tasted anything like this before.”

“It’s Almyran Pine Needles tea. My personal favorite. How do you like it?”

“I’m not sure. It’s neither sweet, nor bitter. It’s a bit sour and nutty?” 

“Yeah, it needs some getting used to. But it reminds me of home, so I can’t help but like it,” Claude explains and his eyes seem to grow distant, as if visiting some far-away place.

“Home? Are you from Almyra? I had a feeling you weren’t from Fodlan,” I asked curiously. I did think that he did not look like he’s from Fodlan, but he can’t be the next Duke Riegan unless he has Fodlan blood running through his veins.

“Yeah, I’m half Almyran. In fact, I’ve lived in Almyra my whole life until last year when my grandfather discovered me as his legitimate heir,” this story seemed very simplified and I bet there was a lot more to it, but I did not dare to ask. It would feel like I was sticking my nose where I was not supposed to.

“That’s very interesting. I wish I could go see Almyra one day. I’ve heard that it is a very beautiful country that’s very different from Fodlan.”

“Really? Maybe one day, I’ll get the chance to show you around,” Claude smiled and his eyes seemed to light up. I’ve never actually seen him look so genuinely happy. It seemed like Claude was mostly smiling to be polite, but now it was different. 

“That would be nice. I bet you would love to meet all your old friends from Almyra again!”

“Oh, I’m afraid that besides my parents, not many actually miss me back in Almyra,” his tone sounded sad although the smile never left his face. 

“Really? Why not? Didn’t you have any friends back there?”

“No, not really. You see, I was the son of enemy’s daughter, so everybody hated me for that. In a way I was actually happy to leave Almyra. I was hoping that here people would not see me as an outsider,” at this point, the polite smile disappeared from his face. It must be a difficult topic for him, because I never imagined that Claude could be so sad. “Unfortunately, here things are no different. I was still hated and seen as an outsider.”

“I’m sorry… If it’s worth anything, I don’t care that you’re half-Almyran,” I tried to cheer him and a small smile showed on Claude’s face. And this smile, although small and barely noticeable, was genuine.

“Thanks, Amber! I really appreciate that. I kind of feel bad that I’m about to spoil the mood now.”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure how to say this nicely without scaring you, so I’ll just say it how it is. I know you don’t have the Crest of Lamine,” I nearly choked on tea. With these words my worst nightmare has been realized. I knew that during battle, Claude was probably preparing to shoot me with one of his dummy arrows when my Crest activated. I knew that he probably saw it. I just had hoped that he would just dismiss it or that he would simply lack knowledge on crests.

“What are you talking about, Claude? Of course, I have the Crest of Lamine. This crest has been in my family for generations,” I tried to feign ignorance. Maybe he’ll buy it.

“You’re a terrible liar, you know that?” He didn’t. Obviously. Now I felt resigned, scared and unsure of my future. If any noble from the Empire would find out, then not only would I be kicked out of the Officer’s Academy, but my family would probably be stripped of whatever little power we had left.

“Please, don’t look so sad and miserable! I don’t intend to blackmail you or anything. I’m kind of hurt that you would think so lowly of me,” Claude made a dramatically sad face.

“Then what do you intend to do with this information?” 

“Well, honestly I just want to help you. I bet you want to find out what Crest you actually possess. That’s why you were going through all those books in the library, right?” This guy was way too sharp. He seemed to notice everything around him and draw connections were others would have drawn a blank.

“I do want to find out, but how would I even begin to do that? I can’t just walk up to professor Hanneman and ask if he could inspect my Crest! Besides, why would you want to help me?”

“I’m just curious, really. I want to know what kind of mysterious Crest you have. And…”

“And?”

“I honestly want to help this wonderful girl who never once judged me because of my heritage or title. Will you let me help you?" Claude outstretched his hand for a handshake. My mind was warning me to be careful, but before it could protest, I had already shaken his hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm surprised I actually finished four whole chapters! Having a real blast writing it, so I hope you're having fun reading it! :)


	5. First Blood

“You’re in real trouble, you know that, right?” Claude said as we both went through an array of books, trying to figure out my crest. After our teatime together, we spent a lot of time in the library to figure out anything about my crest. Unfortunately, neither one of us noted down how exactly my crest looked, so the search was unfruitful at best.

“What do you mean?” I asked. I knew that I was in trouble, but I did not understand what he meant exactly.

“If we don’t find out at least what triggers your crest, then during the first mission it might trigger again by accident and if Edelgard sees it…” Claude did not need to finish for me to understand.

“That... somehow did not even cross my mind. What am I supposed to do?”

“Calm down, calm down! What do you have me for?” Claude reassured me.

“Do you have an idea?”

“Yes, I indeed do. We just have to get professor Hanneman to tell us how to use the crest analyzer,” Claude grins as if he had just told me the greatest plan in the history of Fodlan. 

“Don’t you think he’ll instantly get suspicious,” I frowned.

“Why would he? We’re just two curious students who want to know more about crest scholars! Nothing suspicious there.” 

I considered his words carefully. There really should not be a reason for professor Hanneman to doubt us, we were students after all. But I was still scared to be found out. Claude figured me out so easily after all.

“I guess we can give it a shot… But can we at least bring someone else along? Just the two of us going is a bit suspicious,” I expressed my concerns. Claude scratched his chin, thought a little bit and said:

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s avoid being suspicious if we can. I’ll bring someone from Golden Deer and you bring someone from your class. We’ll call it a special lecture.”

“I think I know who I can bring along!” I said and both of us rushed in our own direction. My goal was the garden, because Linhardt was usually napping in the garden on nice days. Also he was greatly interested in crests. He would not miss a chance to find out how a crest analyzer works.

As I reached the garden I saw that my hunch was on point. Linhardt was right there, blissfully napping under a tree.

“Hello, Linhardt!” I greeted him in a hushed voice, to not startle him. He groaned lazily at first, but then finally opened his eyes.

“Oh, Amber! What… is it? I’m busy... napping... “ he said while yawning.

“Well, Claude is organizing a special lecture with professor Hanneman where he would explain the basic working principles of a crest analyzer. I thought you would interested in it,” I said, trying not to sound nervous.

“Really?! I would love to know that. Please, tell me we can go right now,” Linhardt got very enthusiastic.

“Yes! We just need to find Claude with the other interested students from Golden Deer first!”

“Excellent! Let’s go then!” It was quite amazing how quickly this boy changed his attitude as long as something that interested him was involved.

Soon enough we met up with Claude, who had Ignatz and Lorenz together with him. Ignatz was just quietly following the two boys, while Lorenz seemed to be lecturing Claude about the importance of his crest and his responsibilities as a noble. Once Claude spotted me, his sour expression instantly lit up, no doubt happy to stop listening to Lorenz’s preaching.

“Amber, I see you’ve brought Linhardt! Excellent! Now we can go meet professor Hanneman!”

So all five of us headed to Hanneman’s study room, Linhardt and Lorenz being especially excited about this learning opportunity. Ignatz did not say much, so I suspected that he came along just to be polite. As we were walking, I could not help but feel nervous. Would we really not rouse suspicion about our sudden interest in the crest analyzer?

“Amber, are you feeling alright? You do not seem to be looking well,” Lorenz pointed out. If I was nervous before then now I became even more so. It’s amazing how Claude managed to remain calm and unfazed.

“She’s just a little nervous about being close to such an esteemed Alliance noble such as yourself, Lorenz! Ever since she defeated you in the battle, she’s been feeling bad about attacking you without warning and hasn’t been able to find the right words to apologize,” Claude put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Claude!” I exclaimed, baffled by his outrageous lie.

“Oh, dear Amber! You really should not worry yourself over such trivial matters! It was I who was rude by not looking at you as a proper opponent! I apologize for that and I hope we can put this unpleasant matter behind us,” Lorenz’s eyes sparked up as he spoke. Were we not walking, I was sure he would have grabbed both on my arms or knelt down before me or some other embarrassing gesture like that. Claude on the other hand was just snickering beside me, clearly enjoying the situation he concocted. I will definitely return this favor of his! 

“Y-yes… L-let us just forget about t-that and b-be friends,” I said while trying to maintain a polite smile. It was becoming increasingly harder as Claude was snickering more audibly with my every word.

“Marvelous! It is so pleasant to talk to such a polite noble lady such as yourself! We as nobles who will became leaders of our respective houses need to stick together and learn from each other. I'm sure...” Lorenz went on and on talking about nobility, his achievements and his search for bribe. I just keep up nodding and smiling politely, not wanting to offend him. 

When we finally reached Hanneman’s study room, I was relieved beyond belief. I had no idea for how long I could have kept up my facade with Lorenz. He was not a bad person, but very overbearing with his beliefs.

Claude knocked on the door and greeted professor Hanneman. Hanneman was pleasantly surprised to find five students interested in the crest analyzer and wasted no time to find materials to explain everything about it. And I mean - EVERYTHING. He told us about how a crest analyzer was invented, history of its development, its structure, working principles and he even about the analysis of crests themselves. We were at his office for the rest of the evening. Lecture only stopped once it got too dark and Hanneman realized that it was late evening.

“I’m sorry that I was only able to tell you a little about the crest analyzer. If you are interested to find out more, come by again and I will explain everything in greater detail,” Hanneman said. How was this the short version? I was pretty sure that if I had the right materials (which very extremely rare) I could build a crest analyzer myself.

When Hannerman was done talking, Lorenz and Ignatz quickly excused themselves to bed, clearly wanting nothing to do with crests anymore, while Linhardt rushed off somewhere saying something about his research.

Me and Claude however left defeated. Claude’s plan was a bust. We could not use the crest analyzer to find out my crest. The device required blood to be deposited inside it for it to be able to make a reading. And every reading that was made on the device, was saved in it, meaning that we could not use it without professor Hanneman finding out.

The feeling of dread was so strong for me that I just bid Claude goodnight and went straight to my room. I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

* * *

After our failure with the crest analyzer, me and Claude tried to find the trigger for my crest “manually”. We just kept sparring in the training grounds, trying out all sorts of weapons in all sorts of combinations. We even went as far as to try using magic, but nothing could trigger my crest to appear again. Either we were very unlucky or nothing that we did could actually trigger my crest. And we did not manage to find it in time for the first mission.

“Amber, I’m so sorry that I could not help!"

“You have no need to apologize, Claude. You did everything you could and more to help me,” I said. “I’m really grateful for that. Thank you!”

And those were the last words I said to Claude before leaving on my first mission.

* * *

There were way more bandits than the knights had first anticipated. We were told that it was a small group of bandits, approximately 6-8, that was pillaging one of the villages in the Holy Kingdom of Feargus. In reality there were more than 20 of them. And only 15 of us. We were outnumbered. 

But we could not just back away and go home. We had a skilled mercenary leading us and we believed in him. Beleth commanded 10 students and himself to attack the bandits head on while the other 5 would sneak around the back of the village and attack from the side streets. 

It was surprising how easily bandits just abandoned the safety of houses and just rushed out in the open to greet the main fighting force. They must have felt safe after seeing a bunch of kids being sent to take care of them. What they did not know is that all of our strongest fighters were in that main group - Edelgard, Ferdinand, Petra, Hubert, Linhardt. And the Professor, of course. He alone could overpower 5 bandits at once.

I was sent together with the smaller force to take out any unsuspecting bandits from behind. In my group there was Bernadetta, Dorothea, Caspar and Liz (a healer from our class). My and Caspar’s task was to keep the others safe, in case some of the bandits got too close. 

We quietly sneaked through the narrow streets, while the other group had already engaged in combat.

“We should go and help them. They’re already fighting,” Caspar pleaded. He was fidgety and ready to abandon his position at any moment.

“No! There are too many of them! We need to attack from behind!” I said strictly and continued sneaking from house to house as quietly as I could. Everyone was doing their best at being quiet, but we were no assassins. Occasionally one of us bumped into a barrel or a trash can on the side of the street or stepped on some dry branches.

“What’s that noise?” I heard a gruff voice resound close by. It was one of the bandits who was still hiding in the side streets. We all froze and hid behind boxes and anything else we could find.

But then Caspar tripped over something and hit one of the boxes with a loud crash.

“Over here! There are more of these twerps!” One bandit saw us and alerted the others. So much for taking down the enemy quietly.

Caspar did not hesitate and ran straight toward the bandit with his axe while yelling like a madman. The dirty man seemed to be confused by Caspar’s yelling and did not manage to dodge in time. The axe dug straight into his arm sending blood everywhere. My stomach churched.

“Everyone, we must help him!” Dorothea yelled out and sent a lighting strike right towards the unlucky bandit. It hit him straight in the head. A nasty smell of burned flesh permeated the air and I did my best not to look at the burned body as I rushed past it to help Caspar. More bandits ran straight towards us and we did our best to protect our long-range units. Luckily the enemy could not past us because the streets were just too narrow.

Dorothea kept sending lighting strikes towards the enemies, burning flesh left and right, while Bernadetta rained down arrows while shrieking in pure horror. Me and Caspar were desperately fighting bandits head on, but there were too many of them. We were getting overwhelmed. Multiple times I felt swords and axes tear into my limbs and were it not for Liz’s healing I probably would have met my end.

Then I saw Caspar, who was diligently fighting by my side until then, getting flung against the wall like a ragdoll. I heard him gasp for air as the hit knocked the wind out of him and made him lose consciousness.

“You nasty little brats are going to pay!” A big, unkempt man with a beard and ponytail roared. It was clear that he was the leader of this group because he was by a head longer than anybody else. Seeing him made my legs turn to jelly. 

The plan was for the main group to take out the leader, however they were still on the main street fighting the other bandits. Were we even strong enough to defeat this overgrown gorilla without their help?

I steeled my nerves and headed straight towards the man, trying to remember every single fighting technique that Jeralt and Beleth had taught me. Dorothea sent a lighting strike past me to hit the leader but he just dodged it and launched his axe straight at me. I moved my body sideways, but I was not quick enough. Axe dug into my left arm, making me scream in pain. Bernadetta sent arrows towards the thief, but only one managed to hit his arm. The bandit just pulled it out like a toothpick.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that!” he screamed.

I looked back and saw the horrifying situation we were in. Dorothea had used up all her magic, Bernadetta was out of arrows and Caspar was lying unconscious on the ground. It was all up to me.

I gripped my lance tightly trying to ignore the blood that was dripping onto it from my arm. I took a deep breath and launched my lance towards the giant man. He parried it but not fully as I managed to injure his shoulder.

“You will pay for that!” he yelled. He was about to swing his axe at me but then I felt a surge within me. My power awakened, the crest manifested and the bandit froze right in his tracks. Although I feared this power, currently I thanked the goddess for letting me use it. I took the chance and launched the spear right into the man's heart. He looked down at the pool of blood seeping from his chest and then fell to the ground, life leaving his eyes.

I fell to the ground on my knees, my body shaking. It wasn’t clear whether it was from the loss of my own blood or the fact that I just killed a man or that I actually survived. But the important thing was that we were victorious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story is finally starting to pick up and getting more interesting. It's also getting more fun to write! Hopefully you enjoy! :)


	6. Dearest Friend

The trip back to Garreg Mach was nothing more than a haze for me. Although after defeating the bandit leader, Liz and Linhardt rushed straight to me to heal my injuries, I had already lost a lot of blood. At first, I tried to walk myself but I got dizzier and dizzier with every step so eventually professor Beleth just carried me. On our way back Caspar and Edelgard stayed closeby. Caspar constantly apologized for letting me get hurt, no matter how many times I said it wasn’t his fault. Edelgard on the other hand, said nothing, but occasionally offered Beleth to help carry me. At one point, I heard the professor whisper quietly:

“I’m sorry! There was no other way of saving everybody.”

I did not understand what those words meant and my mind was too clouded to remember them afterwards, but I felt like I had done something good for all of my classmates.

When we finally arrived at the Monastery, I was taken directly to the infirmary to professor Manuela. I lost my consciousness soon after. 

I woke up only the next day when the sun was already close to setting. There were a few other students in the infirmary but none of them from my class. Apparently I had sustained the worst injuries out of everyone. Professor Manuela was nearby and she came to me as soon as she noticed that I had woken up.

“Good morning, dear! How are you feeling?” she asked and poured me some water in a glass. 

“I’m f-fine,” I said shakily and tried to get up, only to have an intense dizzy spell and fall back into the bed.

“Slowly now! You’ve lost a lot of blood. We almost had to make a blood transfusion,” Manuela said with a pained expression and helped me drink some water by holding my head.

“It was that bad?” I asked after I had drunk my fill.

“Yes, your injuries were quite serious. Your arm had been cut almost to the bone, you had lost a lot of blood, not to mention the bruises all over your body. Were it not for quick action of the healers in your class, you would be covered in scars for life,” she explained. Then she continued before I had the chance to say anything. “Don’t worry though. You should be able get back to your studies next week.”

“Thank you, professor Manuela!” 

“You’re welcome! Call me if you need anything,” she said and returned back to her other duties. 

I was a bit restless and wanted to get up, however I knew I would just get dizzy. So instead I looked around the infirmary again, examining it more carefully. I noticed that there were some fruits and get well cards on the little table next to my bed. Probably presents from my classmates. Despite wanting to read the cards and eat some fruit, I had no choice but to rest some more until I was well enough to sit up on my own.

After a while of laying in the bed, I heard a knock on the bed and saw Claude standing next to it with a basket filled with flowers and various fruits.

“The sleeping beauty has finally awoken from her slumber, I see,” he smiled and sat down on a chair next to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Hey, Claude. I’ve certainly been better, but I’ll live,” I said and tried to show a smile which came out a bit crooked.

“You really scared me you know. I come back from my mission, ready to rest and relax, when I see professor Beleth and the other Black Eagles rushing inside the monastery with you near unconscious and covered in blood. Even Manuela was shocked at how badly injured you were. What happened?”

“There were more bandits than initially anticipated. We separated in two groups with the main group trying to take down the biggest chunk of the bandits, while my group was supposed to attack from the sidelines. But we were found out and attacked by the leader. Caspar got knocked unconscious and the others in my group were long-ranged units. They could NOT have taken on that bandit head on. So I did what had to be done.”

“You should've retreated and waited for the main group to arrive!” This was the first time I’ve seen Claude angry. His knuckles were clenched and his eyes looked like a dark thunderstorm.

“Sorry, I kind of was not thinking at the moment…” I apologized and Claude’s expression softened a little. 

“Well, you’re alive, that’s all that matters! Now how about some tasty fruit? I bet you’re hungry!” Claude showed a small smile and pulled out one of the apples from the basket.

“Claude?”

“What is it?” 

“My crest manifested while I was fighting the bandit leader. I’m not sure how, but it stopped him from counterattacking me. I’m afraid that if it were not for my crest, I might not be here,” I shamefully admitted and averted my gaze. With the corner of my eye, I noticed Claude’s nails dig into the apple and pierce its skin, making juice drip down from his hands.

There was an unusually long moment of silence. Claude’s expression was unreadable, he had put on the same mask professor Beleth was usually wearing. Finally he took a deep breath and asked:

“Did anybody see it?”

“No, I don’t think so. Caspar was unconscious and others were too preoccupied with the bandit,” I explained although I was not 100% sure myself. 

“Alright then! Then how about some of that fruit?” Claude put on his regular polite smile and proceeded to peel me an apple. Seems like he did not want to discuss this matter further so I decided not to push him.

* * *

Next day I could finally leave the infirmary. I had already gotten sick of the constant smell of medicine. But this did not mean I was fully healed. Walking proved difficult as I got dizzy when standing upright. Leonie helped me back to my room where I had to essentially spend a few more days mostly laying in bed. It was rather hard to just lay there and do nothing and even harder since I got hungry every few hours. Manuela said that it was normal because my body required a lot of nutrients to recover.

While I was recovering, I was constantly being visited by someone. All of my classmates came by at least once bringing some little gifts with them (mostly food). Caspar visited multiple times, always apologizing no matter how many times I told him that I did not blame him for what happened. Edelgard and by extension Hubert also came by a few times. It was a bit intimidating to be almost one-on-one with Edelgard, but she was nice and always told me about what was being taught in class. Professor Beleth stopped by once or twice to deliver some study materials. He did not talk much, just asked how I was feeling, whether I needed something and then left. I was quite surprised that even some of the Golden Deer came to visit, like Ignatz and Lorenz. 

Leonie came by twice a day, once before the lectures to bring me breakfast and once in the evening to help me bathe. After this incident the bond between the two of us grew stronger and it was safe to say that we became great friends, if not best friends. When Leonie found out about me getting injured, she was shocked and even somewhat angry but at the same time relieved that my injuries would heal without any issues. She then promised to train with me even more to teach me everything I needed to know to avoid such nasty injuries in the future. 

And then there was Claude. He was the one who visited me most often. He brought me food, books from the library and anything else I needed. Even when I could finally walk on my own without getting too dizzy, he always made sure to accompany me or that I was accompanied by somebody else. It made me feel like a burden. After five days had passed and I was not getting dizzy anymore, I finally spoke up:

“You don’t need to accompany me wherever I go, Claude. I am feeling well enough.” 

Claude just grinned at me sheepishly and replied:

“It hasn’t even been a week since the incident. I know you don’t have these regular dizzy spells anymore, but it won’t hurt to make sure you don’t collapse anywhere. Besides don’t you enjoy my lovely company anymore?” 

“I’m fine! Really!” I insisted and Claude smiled, but this time his smile was genuine.

“I know but you’re one of my dearest friends here and I would hate to find out that you collapsed somewhere here in the Monastery just because you were alone. It’s not like this is a bother for me.”

My heart skipped a beat. I never could have imagined that Claude thought of me as one of his closest friends. We did spend a lot of time together, either trying to figure out things about my crest, training or eating (and maybe pranking some other students sometimes). I certainly cared a lot about him, but I never imagined that he would have grown attached as well.

“Fine then, if you insist,” I said while trying to hide the giant grin from him with my hair. 

* * *

A week after the first mission, I was finally well enough to start attending classes and doing some simple training exercises. As more time went by, I felt my body return to its former strength until finally I did not have any dizzy spells anymore. Luckily for me, the mission for Garland Moon was not difficult. Our task was to participate in the Summertime festival in one of the bigger cities in Dukedom of Aegir. We would just have to act as guards and make sure that the festival remains safe for all participants.

Nobody expected for any fighting to break out so our class could relax. Ferdinand, of course, was excited beyond belief to go back to his home and just kept preaching about making it the best Summertime festival ever. Not that we could actually influence the festival, we were just a safety net in case something went awry. I was more worried about Claude’s mission. They needed to go to Gaspard territory to clean up the aftermath of the rebellion led by one of the minor nobles, Lord Lonato. Thankfully the Knights of Seiros will be sent before them to suppress the rebellion. So neither I nor Claude should engage in combat this month which was always good news.

But there was also the matter with the crest which started to worry me more and more. My crest started to manifest more often. Once while I was sparring with Leonie, it just appeared out of nowhere and stopped Leonie from counterattacking. She was a bit shocked at first, but as a commoner she neither knew, nor cared about whether I had the right crest.

“Wow, these crest powers are pretty neat. It’s a shame you can’t control when they appear,” she stated and we just continued our training like nothing had happened.

However, on the inside, I was screaming. What if I had been sparring with someone else? Leonie wasn’t the only one I trained with. Caspar, Petra and Ferdinand regularly sparred with me and they could get suspicious about my crest. And if someone like Hubert or Linhardt would be in the training grounds at the time, then they could tell that I have the wrong crest at the mere sight of it.

But I was finally actually able to catch a glimpse of my crest. The previous times I was too preoccupied with my opponent to look at symbol appearing around me. After I was done with training, I instantly rushed to my room to draw it on a piece of paper. Then I went to the library to compare my drawing to the crest drawings in the books. I looked through the crest of the ten elites. No, not one of them. Then through the crests of four saints. No, not it. Even went as far as to compare it to the divine crests. Still no. I wasn’t sure whether I just lacked the knowledge to recognize crests or the crest I had was simply not mentioned in the Church’s records.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit a relaxing chapter, compared to the last one. Hopefully you enjoy! :)


	7. New Threat

Compared to the first mission, our second mission felt like a vacation. The Summertime festival was filled with life and festivities, people dancing and singing. There were delicious food stalls on every corner and I made sure to sample a bit of everything. It was great! There were a few little fights here and there, but as soon as the ruffians noticed us dressed in full armor with weapons in our arms, they instantly relented and left. 

The only sad thing was that I had no one to share my joy with. Sure, I was surrounded with everyone from Black Eagle class, but they all seemed somewhat distant and more busy with themselves. Professor Beleth was the only one who was meticulously looking over the crowd to make sure that nothing bad happened. Edelgard and Hubert were discussing something between themselves, their expressions awfully serious. Ferdinand was busy bossing around organizers of the event, making sure that everything was perfect. Linhardt and Bernadetta were nowhere to be found and the others have scattered throughout the many stalls. I wished Claude or Leonie could be here with me. Even Lorenz seemed like nice company right now. But since I had nobody, I just kept going from stall to stall, enjoying food and picking up some more delicious snacks to bring back to Leonie and Claude.

* * *

When we returned to Garreg Mach, we instantly felt that something was not right. Knights were rushing around from place to place, students were gathered in large crowds, nervously discussing something. We found teachers gathered around professor Byleth, carefully listening to her story. We did not falter and quickly rushed over to her.

“Professor, has something happened?” Edelgard asked the question that all of us had on our minds.

“Yes. When we reached the forest of Magdred, there was an ambush. We had no choice but engage in combat with Lord Lonato’s men and the militia that had rallied to his aid. We managed to beat Lord Lonato, however we found a note on him stating that there is a plan to assassinate Lady Rhea during the Goddess Rite of Rebirth,” she summarized the situation, her expression unwavering.

“Did any of the students get killed?” Beleth dared to ask the question that nobody else could get out of their mouth.

“No, only a few minor injuries, nothing serious. Compared to the students Lonato’s militia seemed to know next to nothing about fighting,” Byleth said.

This was all so sudden. Somebody trying to assassinate the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros seemed like something only a madman would attempt. The Monastery was filled with capable knights, protecting Lady Rhea 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not to mention that students here also had military training and certainly could hold their own. And attacking Lady Rhea during Goddess Rite of Rebirth was even crazier! She will be surrounded by knights, so I cannot even fathom how the assassin intended to get to her. 

Something wasn’t quite right. Why would anyone send secret notes about their plans to assassinate the archbishop? Was this all a setup? Maybe I was just looking too deep into it. 

In any case, due to this development of events, all students had the same mission this month - guard the Monastery during Goddess Rite of Rebirth in places where Knights could not. It was nice that we didn’t have to leave the Monastery grounds, however everyone was on high alert. Knights were strengthening the defenses while students were training and patrolling diligently to repel any possible attackers.

There was another unusual thing going on. It was the Golden Deer students, specifically ones from Claude’s class. I saw them running about the Monastery grounds as if searching for something. One time I caught Claude running as well, so I decided to call out to him:

“Hey! Did the Golden Deer lose something or are you all training for a marathon,” I said in jest.

“Hey, Amber! I guess you could say we’re searching for something. Say, if you were an evil guy what would be your target in the Monastery?” Claude asked. Now it made sense to me.

“You don’t believe Lady Rhea is the target, right? I also thought it to be odd to plot an assassination of the archbishop so openly.”

“Exactly! So we’re trying to find something valuable that some villain might be after. Would be easier if we knew who the enemy was, but we have to work with what we got.” 

“I really don’t know what could be this mysterious valuable thing they’re after. How about I help you all out?” I offered. Honestly, I was quite curious to find out the truth.

“Sure, an extra pair of eyes and ears couldn’t hurt! If you find something then just go to the Golden Deer classroom. Me and Teach are switching places as main information collectors, so you should find one of us there,” Claude explained and then took off. I just couldn’t help but wonder how he could just call professor Byleth “Teach”. She was really young for a teacher, but a teacher nonetheless. Then again Claude was quite a laid back guy, so this shouldn’t surprise me that much.

* * *

Searching for this mysterious target of the mysterious enemies proved very difficult. The Monastery was almost a millennium old, it had tons of priceless artifacts, books, even rare wines and flowers. I’ve tried to search in places that logically thinking shouldn’t contain anything valuable - training grounds, stables, empty rooms in the Monastery. Unfortunately to no avail. 

In the evening I’ve decided to check the Golden Deer classroom to see if anybody has found anything. Seemed like everybody who was involved in the search was already in the class, actively discussing the possible targets.

“Miss Amber, I see you have joined in our search as well. It is very pleasing knowing that someone with proper manners and intellect is helping us. Perhaps, you have found something of interest,” Lorenz spoke up as soon as he saw me. Everybody instantly turned their attention to me, some faces very familiar to me while others I’ve seen only while passing by.

“Why is somebody from Black Eagle house here?” Lysithea, a small girl with light, long hair, spoke up in a rather accusing tone. Clearly she did not approve of my presence.

“Lysithea, don’t be so rude! She’s my friend! I assure you that she can be trusted,” Leonie spoke up for me and I gave her grateful smile.

“Yes, I vouch for her as well! Her manners as a noble are nearly on par with mine!” Lorenz announced with his head held high.

“Manners have nothing to do with this, Lorenz! But she is constantly together with either Claude or Leonie, so she’s basically one of us already,” said Hilda, a girl with twin ponytails. It surprised me how observed she was. We had talked only a few times, so never expected her to notice me. Or maybe she just noticed Claude and Leonie as her classmates.

“Alright, alright! Settle down everyone! We’ve already forgotten our goal. Amber, did you find anything?” Claude quickly calmed everyone down. It was embarrassing to admit that I didn’t find anything so I just shook my head. He sighed. “Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. Let’s search right after our classes are over!”

The next day did not seem more fruitful than the last one. I did manage to find some secret tunnels that lead to different parts of the Monastery, but they were just tunnels. Nothing more. 

“Hey, Amber! Any luck today?” Claude asked me when we crossed our paths during our search.

“No, just a bunch of empty secret passages.”

“Secret passages? Wow, you’ve been quite thorough, I haven’t thought of looking through those.”

“There’s not much to look at. Most of them are just empty walls. They are quite convenient to get around the Monastery quickly.”

“Really? Show me!” A little mischievous spark appeared in Claude’s eyes and I couldn’t help but chuckle. In moments like these it was clear that Claude was still a playful boy who liked mischief like any other.

I decided to show him a tunnel near dormitories. It led underneath the Monastery all the way to the stables. We both entered the tunnel with a torch to light our way. Claude kept looking around carefully, while just kept going. Honestly, I did not like going through these dark tunnels, but I was willing to cast my silly fears of darkness aside if it meant that I could discover something useful.

“Wait, Amber! Stop! I’ve found something,” Claude called out and turned around to see. He pointed at a small indentation in the wall with a small button inside. “I wonder what’s that for?”

Before I could stop him, Claude pushed the button. There was a low rumble and then part of a wall started to slide away, revealing a passage.

“A hidden passage within a hidden passage! Things are getting more interesting,” Claude exclaimed, clearly excited about his discovery and went straight inside.

“Wait! It could be dangerous!”

“It’ll be fine. If there was something dangerous or valuable there, somebody would probably guard it. Come on, Amber! Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“Where’s your sense of self-preservation?” I complained, but followed him nonetheless.

After wandering through the darkness for a while, we saw light coming from the end of the tunnel.

“I wonder if it leads outside,” Claude noted. But it did not lead outside. At the end of the passage we found something incredible. An underground city. There were people bustling around, merchant stalls set up in the distance and many streets lit up by countless candles and lanterns.

“What is this place?” I asked, marveling at the wonder that was hidden beneath our feet.

“A better question is, who are you two?” Unknown voice spoke up and before we even managed to react, a bunch of swords were pointed towards us. 


End file.
